Martell Takes 12th in Class at the Fastest Rally in the World!
Conner Martell and Alex Gelsomino completed the fastest rally of the 2026 WRC Season : Secto Rally Finland this past weekend with a 16th place finish in the Rally2 class. Coming into the weekend the duo anticipated a high speed jump filled event but nothing could prepare them for the legendary roads that Finland is so well known for. A four day event which had an average speed factor of 128 km/h, Martell & Gelsomino pushed through and survived to the very end which was not the case for more than 15+ competitors most of which crashed out and or suffered mechanical turmoil.
Martell had this to say : “Rally Finland was absolutely insane. Alex and I learned a lot over the course of the weekend with many highs and lows. I have never personally raced in torrential rain which made it to the point where we could barely see out of the car but we pushed on and ended with a result I’m happy with. It feels good to get my first WRC finish and I hope to continue improving moving forward and getting faster. I know that if I get the chance to do Rally Finland again it will be easier but no less scary. We couldn’t have done it without the support of our amazing team “2C Competition” and Lancia / Stellantis Motorsport.
Gelsomino had this to say : “ It was exciting to be back at WRC Finland after 10 years since my last appearance there. The event was more challenging than ever due to the variable weather conditions and very fast stages which brought the average speeds to record setting numbers. Because of that, I am really stoked that Conner and I were able to complete the event with good split and the opportunity to learn a lot in the process. As usual big thanks to our team for allowing us tot have a solid pre-event test and working the complexities of this unique rally step by step.
The duo will be back for one of the last rounds of the 2026 WRC season on the island of Sardegna in the month of October. Stay tuned for a Youtube recap of their event.
